hs-CRP and oxidative stress in young CAD patients: A pilot study

Premature coronary artery disease (CAD) is common in India. We, therefore, studied oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and high sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in young CAD patients. Present study consisted of male CAD patients below 40 years and age and sex matched healthy controls (n=30 each). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for serum lipid profile, malondialdehyde, antioxidant enzymes and hs-CRP levels. Dyslipidemia was observed in 90% of the young CAD patients, of which 72.2% showed increased serum triglycerides and decreased HDL-cholesterol. LDL-cholesterol levels were high in 77.8%. Serum malondialdehyde and hs-CRP levels were increased significantly (p<0.0001) as compared to controls. hs-CRP levels were in high risk range in all the young patients. However, glutathione peroxidase activity was reduced significantly (p<0.05). Our data suggests that elevated hs-CRP levels along with dyslipidemia and oxidative stress adds to the predictive value of premature CAD in young Indians.     

Learner-centric MOOC model: a pedagogical design model towards active learner participation and higher completion rates

Educational technology research and development - MOOCs support the global need of learning resources with large impact through online access and no geographical boundaries. However, pedagogical...     

Language in education: Minorities and multilingualism in India

The question of education in India cannot be properly discussed without referring to its socio-linguistic context. This paper provides background information on the linguistic profile of India. The term minorities in the Indian context is defined, and the protection offered to linguistic minorities in the Indian Constitution is examined. A discussion of language policy in Indian education follows in which the recommendations of the different education commissions are analysed. The important issues covered include: the number of languages that are taught, the medium of instruction, and the educational policies regarding speakers of minority languages. The article also discusses different language movements and their impact on Indian education.

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Zusammenfassung Die Frage der Bildung in Indien kann ohne einen Bezug zum sozial-linguistischen Kontext nicht hinreichend diskutiert werden. Dieser Artikel liefert Hintergrundinformationen zum linguistischen Profil Indiens. Der Begriff Minderheiten wird im Zusammenhang mit Indien definiert und der den Sprachminderheiten in der indischen Verfassung zugestandene Schutz untersucht. Anschließend wird die Sprachpolitik im indischen Bildungssystem angesprochen und die Empfehlungen unterschiedlicher Bildungskommissionen werden analysiert. Die wesentlichen abgehandelten Themen beinhalten folgende Bereiche: die Anzahl der unterrichteten Sprachen, die Unterrichtssprache und die Bildungspolitik hinsichtlich der Sprachminderheiten. Der Artikel befaßt sich außerdem mit unterschiedlichen Sprachbewegungen und ihrem Einfluß auf die indische Bildung.

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Resumen La cuestión de educación en la India no podrá discutirse adecuadamente sin hacer referencia a su contexto sociolingüístico. Este trabajo provee informaciones de fondo sobre el perfil lingüistico de la India. Define el término de minorias en el contexto indio y examina la protección que la Constitución de la India ofrece a las minorías lingüísticas. A ello se agrega una discusión de la política lingüística en la educación india, en la que se analizan las recomendaciones de las diferentes comisiones de educación. Fntre otras cosas, los puntos tratados son: el número de lenguas que se enseñan, el medio de instrucción, y las políticas de educación referentes a las personas que hablan lenguuas minoritarias. El artículo también trata los diferentes movimientos lingüísticos y sus impactos en la educación en la India.

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Résumé On ne peut vraiment débattre la question de l'éducation en Inde sans la replacer dans son contexts socio-linguistique. Cet article fournit une information de base sur le profil linguistique de l'Inde. Il y définit le terme de minorités dans le contexte de ce pays et étudie la protection que la Constitution indienne assure aux minorités linguistiques. Il s'ensuit un exposé de la politique linguistique dans l'enseignement de ce pays, incluant une analyse des recommandations des différentes commissions pédagogiques. Les points essentiels traités portent sur le nombre de langues enseignées, la langue d'enseignement et les politiques pédagogiques touchant les locuteurs de langues minoritaires. L'article analyse enfin les différents mouvements linguistiques et leur influence sur l'éducation en Inde.

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Efficacy of Turmeric as Adjuvant Therapy?in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

It is known that there is a significant interplay of insulin resistance, oxidative stress, dyslipidemia, and inflammation in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The study was undertaken to investigate the effect of turmeric as an adjuvant to anti-diabetic therapy. Sixty diabetic subjects on metformin therapy were recruited and randomized into two groups (30 each). Group I received standard metformin treatment while group II was on standard metformin therapy with turmeric (2 g) supplements for 4 weeks. The biochemical parameters were assessed at the time of recruitment for study and after 4 weeks of treatment. Turmeric supplementation in metformin treated type 2 diabetic patient significantly decreased fasting glucose (95 ± 11.4 mg/dl, P < 0.001) and HbA1c levels (7.4 ± 0.9 %, P < 0.05). Turmeric administered group showed reduction in lipid peroxidation, MDA (0.51 ± 0.11 µmol/l, P < 0.05) and enhanced total antioxidant status (511 ± 70 µmol/l, P < 0.05). Turmeric also exhibited beneficial effects on dyslipidemia LDL cholesterol (113.2 ± 15.3 mg/dl, P < 0.01), non HDL cholesterol (138.3 ± 12.1 mg/dl, P < 0.05) and LDL/HDL ratio (3.01 ± 0.61, P < 0.01) and reduced inflammatory marker, hsCRP (3.4 ± 2.0 mg/dl, P < 0.05). Turmeric supplementation as an adjuvant to T2DM on metformin treatment had a beneficial effect on blood glucose, oxidative stress and inflammation.     

Focused ion beam milling of microchannels in lithium niobate

We present experimental and simulation results for focused ion beam (FIB) milling of microchannels in lithium niobate in this paper. We investigate two different cuts of lithium niobate, Y- and Z-cuts, and observe that the experimental material removal rate in the FIB for both Y-cut and Z-cut samples was 0.3 μm³/nC, roughly two times greater than the material removal rate previously reported in the literature but in good agreement with the value we obtain from stopping and range of ions in matter (SRIM) simulations. Further, we investigate the FIB milling rate and resultant cross-sectional profile of microchannels at various ion beam currents and find that the milling rate decreases as a function of ion dose and correspondingly, the cross-sectional profiles change from rectangular to V-shaped. This indicates that material redeposition plays an important role at high ion dose or equivalently, high aspect ratio. We find that the experimental material removal rate decreases as a function of aspect ratio of the milled structures, in good agreement with our simulation results at low aspect ratio and in good agreement with the material removal rates previously reported in the literature at high aspect ratios. Our results show that it is indeed easier than previously assumed to fabricate nanochannels with low aspect ratio directly on lithium niobate using the FIB milling technique.     

The Bricks That Build the Clicks: Newsroom Investments and Newspaper Online Performance

As the world embraces the Internet for media consumption, the concept of a hybrid newspaper—a printed newspaper with a companion Web site—is becoming more prevalent. Many hope that online advertising revenue (OAR) will help newspapers make up for losses in print (offline) revenue. However, there is little research that has empirically investigated whether and how investment in the “bricks” (i.e., the newsroom staff and resources that produce news content) will help to build “clicks” (i.e., more online visitors and, subsequently, OAR). This article examines the issue via an econometric analysis of 12 years of longitudinal data from a hybrid newspaper. The results show that the basic success of the clicks model depends on the investment in the bricks of the newspaper (i.e., its newsroom). Specifically, although news gathering is a very expensive part of the news business, it is also a creator of value and directly brings in OAR in addition to print advertising revenue. Therefore, as newspapers seek to capture more OAR, they may need to increase, rather than decrease, investment levels in the newsroom.